Related Content

Daniel Hodge, 24, is one of the newest recruits beginning his tenure at the fire station on the 1500 block of Holman Street. Hodge is no stranger around this fire station. His father, David Hodge, served the Covington Fire Department for 20 years.

"I got here and the guys are great. The food is great. You know, I'm just living the dream," Hodge said. "I grew up around the guys of Covington, running around the firehouse, climbing on the apparatus. I always looked up to them and my goal was to one day walk in their boots and here I am today."

The 10 additions are part of the city's efforts to bring the fire and police departments up to full staff.

Fire department officials have been concerned they don't have enough people to keep everyone safe.

"There's a lot of work to be done, no matter what the call is. Having extra equipment on and having extra guys riding in the truck, that's a big benefit to us and our safety," Lt. Tyler Cherry said. "For example, today we have enough that we have an extra ambulance on that normally isn't staffed, and if we didn't have the 10 recruits starting, we wouldn't have been able to have that on."

After 10 weeks of training and graduation on Friday, the firefighters are ready for when the next call comes in.

"It's a strong brotherhood, it's a strong bond and I just look forward to that as we go through the years and see where it all takes me," said Hodge.

With the new recruits this brings the total number of Covington firefighters to 110.